1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for detecting dehydration in a person and a method of use.
2) Background Art
Prior to the present invention it was not possible to quickly and adequately determine whether a person was dehydrated, particularly, if such a person was or had been engaged in some degree of physical activity and/or exposed to a hot environment for an extended period of time. In recent years several incidents have been reported in the media where otherwise healthy individuals have become so dehydrated that they collapsed, were hospitalized and in some instances died.
Urine specific is a measure of a person""s level of hydration. When a person is adequately hydrated, the urine specific gravity is in the low range. When a person is dehydrated the urine specific gravity will become higher.
Urine specific gravity is often tested in hospitals and doctor""s offices, generally on a sample of urine provided by the patient in a paper cup. Historically, urine specific gravity has been determined with a urinometer, which is a bulb-shaped instrument floated in a test tube of urine, a refractometer, which is a telescopic device providing an estimate of light velocity through a glass enclosed urine drop, and with a multiple-test dipstick
The multiple-test dipstick has several separate reagent areas that turn different colors in response to varying levels of substances in urine, such as, glucose, protein, blood and the like. The dipstick method is the most widely used method for urine testing in the hospital or in a medical environment The specific gravity of urine is one determination which can be determined by use of the multiple-dipstick. One of the reagents on the multiple dip-stick is capable of detecting whether the urine is dilute which is an indication of normal hydration or whether it is highly concentrated which is an indication of dehydration.
In its multiple reagent form, the dipstick provides much information that is unnecessary for the simple evaluation of hydration status. The small size and cluttered layout of the multiple dipstick reagents make them difficult to read and interpret In addition the process of urinating into a cup and dipping something into the urine, followed by discarding the specimen, is awkward, messy and unsanitary. Finally, xe2x80x9cthe readingxe2x80x9d of the test results from the dipstick must be interpreted at a single location (the bottle on which the result legend is illustrated), one at a time.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a single simple effective device for the determination of the immediate hydration condition in a human Another object of the invention is to provide a method for the determination of dehydration in a human. A still further object is to provide a device which is portable and simple to use. Another object is to provide a device which can provide an immediate indication or measure of the hydration status of a person in privacy and without the need or embarrassment of providing a specimen to another person. These and other objects will readily become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the light of the teachings herein set forth.
In its broad aspect, this invention is directed to a compact, portable, and effective, hand-held device for the self-determination of the dehydration status of a human.
The device is comprised of an elongated member having:
(a) (a) at a first portion thereof, a zone containing at least one chemical reagent, which when contacted with a specimen of human urine exhibits a different, specific color corresponding to whether the specific gravity of urine is within the individual ranges of:
(i) (i) less than about 1.015
(ii) (ii) between about 1.015 and about 1.025
(iii) (iii) greater than about 1.025
(b) at a second portion thereof, a zone of predetermined separate colors affixed thereto, each color indicating an individual specific gravity range and therefore the hydration status of the human being tested, and wherein the device is so configured that a person can hold the device and urinate directly onto the first portion thereof without urine contacting the remainder of the device, and wherein a color change of the chemical reagent produced by contact with urine can be immediately and privately compared with the colors affixed to the cap, or cover handle of the elongated member.